A Pact of Iron and Ice
by Tavar
Summary: We have held Moat Cailin for thousands of years and with their blessing, built cities and wonders… In return for all they had given us, we swore that we would know no King but the King in the North whose name is Stark! - Magnar Belmont to King Aegon Targaryen July 2020: Rewrite in Progress, Will update description
1. Chapter 1

_"Vengeance is our Song." -_ The words of House Belmont in the aftermath of their Retribution Campaign, known to historians as the Sack of Dorne

_**"**The Belmont's and their people possess an indomitable will. We thought very little of them, they were descendants of savage Northerners and wore their heritage proudly. But no matter how many times we had beaten them, they would simply grit their teeth, stand back up and come back at us with greater ferocity than before. In the entirety of the Seven Kingdoms, there is no noble house that has endured and despises defeat more than the Belmont's. I do not wish to ever again fight a people who refuse to admit they are beaten no matter what was thrown at them..." _ \- Extract from a Journal of King Artys Arryn

_"Belmont at the Gates! Seven have mercy... Belmont at the Gates!" - _Words that inspired dread during the days of King Theon Stark's military campaign south.

_"I will not let Moat Cailin- a fortress we have held for the Kings of Winter for thousands of years be reduced to a second Harrenhal, nor will I let my men be victims to another Field of Fire. No, we will do what they least expect, Attack." - _Lord William Belmont, the night before his successful assault on the Targaryen Vanguard Camp

_"It is ironic to refer to them as savages, as through them lineages such as Gardner, Greyiron, Durrandon and more recently Targaryen have survived through them." - _Maester Yandel on the Lineages of the Northern Realms post-Robert's Rebellion

**High Heart**

The Battle was won, the Andals were scattered and their king had been slain, yet it did not feel like a victory. Adrian Belmont surveyed the aftermath of the battle. He could accept the casualties, the Andals came to commit sacrilege, and after the actions of King Ormund, he saw no reason to show mercy to these invaders. Were it not for the combination of these Andal 'Knights' and Vale's Bloody Gate they would have been storming the Eyrie and casting down the Arryn's for letting the Andals into the Seven Kingdoms, even if it would have been their last act before they were wiped out.

"My Lord, your orders?"

A large portion of the soldiers that came with him and his father were dead now, they had underestimated the Steel armor and weapons, especially since they boasted some of the finest iron and bronze weapons, so what if they had some other type of metal?

A lot it seems, their soldiers found it hard to find purchase on steel plate, only aiming for the joints allowed them to dispatch these knights.

"Gather the dead and strip the Andal corpses of their arms and armor." Skilled metalworkers were still in their retinue, perhaps they could find a way to make more of this 'steel' at the very least it would allow them to gradually match them in terms of armament.

"What of the prisoners?" the soldier asks.

Adrian was surprised that there were survivors to begin with. Not that it mattered in the end.

"They were so keen on burning Weirwoods in the name of their Seven Gods… execute them before our Gods."

"It will be done." The Soldier salutes and departs. Moments later he heard what he assumed were screams for mercy being cut short and he promptly ignored them.

Adrian moves towards the area where his father fell in battle. When the Andal Knights broke the infantry formation, the battle had devolved into a melee.

_Gods, it could have been worse,_ Adrian thought as he walked through the aftermath. Were it not for the fact that they were already adopting crossbows when the Andals started their invasion, and that metal known as steel had varying degrees of quality, they would have lost, horribly.

Crossbows had been adopted for an entirely different reason, mainly to combat the heavier foot infantry other kingdoms were beginning to field. Adrian was also thanking the gods that steel was not consistent material, he had witnessed crossbows rain ineffective volleys on the knights accompanying the Andal King, but it was working to deadly effect on the rest.

Stripping the dead of their steel armor would be prudent, especially that of the knights accompanying the Andal King, as they were only felled when they had been stabbed in the more vulnerable joints between their armor. He had seen wounded knights cry out for 'parley' in the midst of battle, not that it mattered. The word itself was foreign to them and it most likely had to do with their culture, more so the battle had devolved into a bloody melee, what did they think would happen?

He approached the site where his father fell and found healers tending to him.

"Father?"

"Adrian... have we won?"

Adrian grimaced as he looked over his father's injuries, his armor had been rent asunder by the Steel weapons of the Andals and several arrows had struck vital points on his body. In short, he was silently amazed that his father was still alive, but even if he brought a healer he would still perish. At most he could be given Milk of the Poppy.

He would never know the truth, but Adrian was certain that his father knew what he was thinking.

"Yes father, the Andals fled after you slew their king and our men have run them down."

All the anger held back as they were stripped of the lands, titles and even being humiliated, it all came to bear on the Andal King Erreg. Outnumbered three to one and the Belmont's still emerged victorious with the Andal King slain, there was a reason that the Storm Kings had them wage war in their name.

"Good..." Robert was interrupted by his injuries and he began coughing up even more blood, he was getting paler and paler.

"How many?" was all the dying lord asked. how many of his subjects will he be joining him he asks.

"Of the Twenty-five thousand soldiers that chose to follow us after were stripped of our lands and titles about sixteen thousand remain... of them well over half have been injured with at least twelve-hundred unlikely to return to the field. I do not think we have enough men to fight another battle like that father." Robert nods and grimaces.

"Adrian... you... are in command now." Those were his final words and the light faded from his father's eyes. Robert Belmont was dead.

He wanted to cry, he wanted to weep, he wanted to rage against the accursed Andals. But he could not, Adrian Belmont would grieve in private, now he had responsibilities and he could not let his personal doubts or his emotions cloud his judgment.

Now he needed to plan, with High Heart in its current state, they would have to leave. The Andals would return if only to avenge their King, in their place he would have done the same. Where would he bring them? They were being harassed on their journey by outriders, it was only at High Heart that they found a reprieve and in a way sanctuary. Now that sanctuary had been compromised, but where would he bring them now?

* * *

"The Greenseer wishes to speak with you, Lord Belmont."

The young lord was silent, lost in thought, one of the Children was about to confront him for his impudence when the Greenseer makes a halting gesture.

"It is fine, it is only natural that the son grieves for the father." Adrian was not paying attention, but he would have seen an approximation of pity on the Greenseer's face if he had.

"He is thrust into a position he had not expected to be given and now he must lead his people." the Greenseer's words finally snapped Adrian out of his thoughts.

"It is not lord, that title belonged to my father and that was before King Ormund stripped it from him," he replied bitterly.

"It will be your title once more when you go North."

North? Why would they be of help? Adrian was aware that his ancestors hailed from the North but they were cast out long ago. According to the old stories their ancestor was cast out by the Red King of the Dreadfort for supporting Bran the Builder and if stories were to be believed ending the Long Night... but Adrian thought it to be naught but hearsay, and perhaps a way that his ancestors used to try and make themselves seem more important.

"I know enough about my family's history to know that we were cast out of the North," Adrian said.

"Nevertheless Adrian Belmont, it is the only place you can go." The Greenseer walked towards the young lord and stared him in the eyes. In an instant, his mind was flooded with images.

He witnessed an army of men bearing the banner of the Direwolf confront an army with no banners. It took a moment for his mind to process the fact that he was witnessing the King of Winter confront wights, beings he had thought had only existed in tall tales. He watched as slowly but surely the army of the dead was pushed back. He witnessed as the King of Winter as he arranged for the construction of the Wall

"We were supposed to die here, and thus my species was to die a slow death. The Andal King Erreg was supposed to burn High Heart to the ground, yet it has not happened and the King lies dead, slain by your father, and thanks to your father many of the Children will live on. Your family was supposed to have been wiped out by the Red Kings of the Dreadfort Millennia ago yet here you are, the only descendants of the Last Hero."

Before Adrian could raise any questions from that revelation, the Greenseer continued, ignoring his look of shock.

"Your family bears the Warrior's Blood, a gift we gave to _him_, you and yours have always been content in battle, to fight and die with a weapon in hand, to seek new challenges and overcome them, it is your greatest strength. But in the end, it is also your greatest weakness, until your ancestors were cast out it was stymied by a single place."

As the Greenseer spoke, Adrian felt more of his childhood memories stir, tales of the Long Night, stories of the cold and rigid land that gave birth to his ancestors but home nonetheless.

"Everything your ancestors have achieved, every war, every glory they have attained has brought you to this point, feared by your former peers, your very name dreaded by those who stood against you enough that they gladly seek your destruction. All your ancestors have wrought will guide you to your destination, and it is only by going to where winter fell that you will find the very thing that your ancestors yearned for."

Before he could even think the words had already gone past his lips.

"What was it?"

Where could they possibly go now? They were disgraced, abandoned and if the Andals returned to attack their numbers would dwindle faster, all while winter approaches. As the Greenseer said their family had made many enemies most of whom would gladly see them wiped out, the only place that lacked people with grievances against them was land that had longed exiled them. But deep down, even after he had asked the question, Adrian Belmont knew exactly what the Greenseer was about to say.

"Home."

* * *

**AN:**

**You might be wondering where the above quote about Belmont lineage, well for the AU there were several Knighthood orders who stood by side of various kings (except Greyiron). With the destruction of Durrandon and Gardner during Aegon's conquest the survivors of the knighthood orders were aware of the Belmonts having ties to both kings with the Belmonts being descendants of the Male Line of Durrandon (albeit distantly) as well as descendants of Garth Goldenhand (not as famous as Garth Greenhand but almost as impressive), both of which have been outright acknowledged by the respective houses (despite their reputation) by the time of Aegon's Conquest. This, in turn drives the surviving knights to go North and to swear themselves to the Belmonts. Ironically, in the eye of the South this meant that the Belmonts possessed a stronger claim/possessed more legitimacy as the knights who had always accompanied the kings were now accompanying them.**

**To give a hint of their feats in this AU, here's a list of words to associated with the OC House:**

* * *

_**Narrative nicknames and Titles (appear in story):**_

**Devils (Andals/Faith of the Seven particularly referred to as such in the Reach)**

**Breakers of Andalos (followed King Theon Stark to Andalos, set everything on fire)**

**Kingsbane (During the age of a hundred Kingdoms)**

**The Dauntless Vanguard of the Storm King**

**Defenders of the Old Faith**

**Kin of the Last Hero (Children of the Forest)**

* * *

_**Key Terms for Author Reference:**_

_**Builders**_

_**Those crazy bastards, Absolute madmen**_

_**Vengeful**_

_**Battle-happy maniacs, Militant/Martial Culture**_

_**Smarter than Southern Noble Houses assume they are/Competent leaders and rulers**_

_**Vikings-lite**_

_**Westerosi equivalent of the Varangian Guard to the Valyrian Freehold**_

_**The Heterodynes without SCIENCE!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Two snippets to wrap up Adrian Belmont's very brief story and two mini overview entries as well.**

**List of references:**

**As a reviewer pointed out, Belmont is a Castlevania reference, I chose it because it didn't sound too outlandish as a southern noble house name and at the same time sounds similar to a Northern Noble House (I don't think I have to state the name).**

**House Sigil is from For Honor and their future seat is named after a location from there.**

**There will be one more overview chapter and that's it.**

* * *

**Massacre at the Crossing**

* * *

"It is the will of the Clan, Adrian. Theo will act as a decoy in your stead." Knowing that they would not budge, Adrian could only nod in assent and leave the tent.

He did not want this, to let others die for him. All he wanted to do was lead them North, even if it had cost him his life he would have been content with getting them to their ancestral home. He was right all those months ago when assumed that the Andals would eventually pursue them. Now that the rest of the Clan Elders had mandated that his plan would be enacted by another member of the clan...

Preparation was key if they wanted to win, his scouts had mentioned a narrow valley. On one side was a river and other side was a hill where men could be stationed. The weather had been poor, such were the consequences of winter approaching fast. It also meant that the Knights would have trouble climbing the valley.

It had taken Adrian all of an hour to come up with a plan, he would have small corp of infantry lure the knights into the valley where the rest of his forces would be lying in wait to spring an ambush. The Andals knew him by his armor so he had planned to make himself the bait, that was the plan... but the Clan Elders had overridden him, now his distant cousin Theo would don his armor and lure Andals to into the trap.

Stationing his archers and crossbowmen at the top of the valley would be prudent, having them fix stakes would be ideal, but they needed to keep the enemy unaware. While a part of him dismissed them as foppish fools, it would be too obvious. When the Knights reach the end of the valley, his footsoldiers would descend on the entrance, trapping the Knights and sealing off their ability to move...

* * *

**_Several Days Later..._**

_We have been pursuing them for months. _Ser Jacob Bracken thought.

These accursed Belmont Heathens had been a thorn in their sides for too long.

High Heart was supposed to be their greatest triumph, to cast down the heretical faith that plagues these lands. Only for tragedy to strike. The Belmont's whom had been exiled months ago had gathered all the men they could find and brought them to bear against them at High Heart.

He had heard rumors of their fighting prowess but dismissed them, up until it was too late. At High Heart he had witnessed how dangerous the crossbow really was. Scores of Knights shot down by volley after volley of quarrel. But not their King, no quarrel could fell him. But then came the shieldwall, four times did they charge it and four times they were denied, on the fifth charge they finally broke through, but their horses were spent and battle simply dissolved into a melee.

In the midst of that Carnage their king fought the heathen lord. The King would have fallen to lord were it not for one of his sword shields stabbing the knight in the back.

We had thought that savage had been felled. Jacob could not fathom what sort of reserve that Robert Belmont had, but he drew upon it, got up despite his wounds and stabbed the king in the back. Before they could attack, before they could strike Robert down, more of Belmont's soldiers came crashing down on them, forcing them to quit the field.

_And Abandon our King._ Ser Jacob thought bitterly. They had been hounding them for months, and now it seems that they've all scattered and fled.

The Savages were fleeing, as they should. Running them down was easy. Crushing them underfoot as they deserved. They had the audacity to kill their king when he was only doing the work of the Seven.

"Kill Them!" Ser Jacob roared as cut down more of the enemy soldiers.

The last of the heathens had stopped and braced themselves with spears held high.

Some of his comrades fell, but it did not matter. They were cut down with ease, the bastards were stubborn but were trampled underfoot all the same.

"Victory is ours! The heathen lord is dead. Our King is avenged!"

The joyful cry was cut short as they heard the confusion in the rear and the sounds of steel clashing on steel. Realizing that enemies were in the rear Ser Jacob attempted to order an about-face, only to realize that the valley was too narrow to maneuver properly. It was at that moment that Jacob noticed a man at the top of the valley. It was too far for Ser Jacob to ascertain the man's identity. He was clad in no armor but held a distinctive bronze blade in his hand...

_No..._ _it couldn't be..._

It was the same blade wielded by the other heathen lord, Robert Belmont, the same blade that slew their king by stabbing him in the back. But he was dead. It took but a moment for Ser Bracken to draw the immediate conclusion: They hadn't killed Adrian Belmont, the man they had just slain was an imposter and the real one was standing atop the valley.

The heathen made a gesture, and the situation grew worse when a storm of Arrows rained upon them.

Jacob Bracken knew no more as a quarrel had pierced his throat and an arrow had pierced his eye. His last thoughts were that of knowing that they had been deceived and that he had done was lead his men into a slaughter.

* * *

**_Moments Earlier..._**

"Is that the footmen?" the other knight looked at the dust cloud appearing behind them.

"Almost admirable of them. They're trying so hard to attain glory for themselves."

"Hold on… those spears look longer than usual and we didn't bring that many footmen."

Now that the knight had a better look, he realized that his comrade was right. The footmen advancing towards them were clad in Bronze and blue, not their colors. The pace of the footmen had not slowed down but rather it seemed to have sped up.

"They're not ours…" The Knight paled, already knowing that he could not maneuver well in his current situation.

"Enemies in the Rear!" He bellowed.

"About face!" He heard another cry out.

The Knights tried to reorganize but the valley was too narrow to move their horses.

"We can't move!" Ser Daveth heard his compatriots scream.

As if on cue, several boulders smashed into the center of the knight's column, crushing many underfoot before rolling into the river. This was followed by more volleys of arrows and quarrels raining down on them. Not all were crushed as the ones who weren't were sent flying into the river where their armor caused them to sink underwater and drown.

_Too late._

Even if they could move now it would be too late. Several knights had by some miracle managed to swing around to confront the advancing enemy, but it was too late, the enemy was already on the attack. Ser Daveth was not that far from the rear. He could hear the enemy soldiers screaming a foreign word, but even then he knew exactly what they were saying.

"Charge!"

Rank upon rank of soldiers towards the trapped knights with their spears held high.

* * *

_**As the decoys were slaughtered...**_

He sent those men to die. Adrian knew this and sent them anyways.

_'Vengeance is our Song',_ House words that were chosen not in ages past but rather recently. It was his Grandmother Lady Cassandra Belmont who made it their house words after avenging our family from the acts of the Dornish lords.

He once read journals Lady Cassandra had written, detailing her personal thoughts on the matter. Detailing how she had sacrificed so many of her soldiers breach both the Wide Way and the Stone way or 'Boneway' as others had called it afterwards, lined with the bones of the Dornish soldiers who defend the pass.

A part of him found it disturbing how she described her retaliation, at first glance it was swift and brutal, but her later actions made it the stuff of nightmares. How she took prisoners, especially those of the nobles who had ordered the assassinations of her family members. She did not go into too much detail but what she did left them begging for death, which to them must have been a mercy if what details she wrote was true.

Both passes had been heavily fortified more so than before and possibly because the Houses that resided there feared what would happen if Cassandra's children went back to Dorne to finish what they had started.

Once more he felt rage and anger at the predicament that the Andals had forced them into. He remembered the death of his father, the deaths of so many loyal men. Adrian wanted to descend the hill and lead his men in a charge, bringing his father's sword to bear on the knights cleaving them in twain-

He shook his head.

Was that how his grandmother felt when she found the rest of her family defiled and slain by Dornish Assassins? Unlike him, she did as she wanted and as a result, The Dornish Kings had bowed, bent and broke as she said she would make them. But even before they were attainted they were still reeling from the aftereffects of her campaign. An entire generation of his people practically wiped out by his father's time. They were on the way to recover but only just. A critic could argue that it was her fault, but the clan elders had often defended her decision, back then they had all had agreed that the Dornish needed to pay for their actions.

He shuddered inwardly as he remembered, at what point does vengeance go too far?

Lord Belmont knew that could not let his own desires rule his thoughts. He chose to take comfort in the fact that none of the knights would leave this valley alive.

He could hear their cries of triumph. How proud they must be to trample over men armed with spears while claiming to be oh so honorable.

What honor was there in running down a man with no chance to fight back? To call it a fair fight?

Lord Belmont knew that they could not hear them but he spoke the words aloud regardless, not knowing if the knights could hear him.

"I would suggest that you pray to your 'Seven' for mercy, but it won't save you."

Adrian raised his hand in the air for a moment before bringing it down. The next word spoken was less of a shout and more a roar, loud enough that even the Knights could hear as he spoke the command that would condemn them all to their deaths.

"Loose!"

At Adrian's command, A storm of arrows and quarrels fell upon the knights.

* * *

_He sacrificed his men, he sent them to their deaths. All for the sake of trapping us._ the Knight thought.

Ser Leo briefly looked at the man staring down at them impassively. Cold… his eyes were cold. He could only watch as some of his comrades tried to get their horses to ascend the hill only to slip and come tumbling back down. It was a horrible way to die. Surrounded, bottled in with the enemy attacking from afar.

Not even a chance to fight back.

He distinctly heard shouts and screams behind him, the sound of steel piercing flesh cries for honorable parley cut short. It was then he noticed the banners of House Belmont behind them, with row upon row of spears with bands of crimson cloth tied near the socket of the spearheads.

Attacked from the front with arrows, attacked from the rear by these vengeful savages and no way to fight back.

Ser Leo managed to move his horse to face the advancing soldiers, the honorless curs. he managed to cut down two of the savages.

"Honorless Curs!" he roared. He cuts down another as several soldiers advanced on him, Ser Leo managed to kill one more when a spear pierced his wrist, another struck his horse in the eye and another pierced his shoulder.

_The Seven was with them, they would not let such-_ he felt the last spear pierce the mail guarding his neck, and the Knight knew no more.

* * *

The Soldiers charged in. Some knights were simply trampled on, their armor protecting them until soldiers in the second and third ranks finished them off with daggers.

_Aim for the joints or aim for the neck_.

Alaric repeated those words in his head as he drove his spear into the neck of a knight.

_Easier said than done,_ he thought sardonically. Then again their lord had never said it would be easy. While their spears couldn't directly penetrate the knight's plate armor, it could easily get through the joints in said armor.

With the knights pinned, not even able to turn around and meet the spears. His thoughts were cut short when he saw that one of the knights had managed to maneuver back to face them. In but a moment Alaric and several other soldiers were rushing the knight.

"Do not let them get back up!" Alaric roared as his spear struck true, killing the knight in question.

Alaric took grim satisfaction as he could tell that the continuous volleys of arrows and quarrels were having an effect, some knights had been forced to drop their shields due to how the arrows were weighing it down. He absently noted that the arrow volleys were being loosed less and less as he and the others got closer.

He was mildly surprised to see how effective crossbows were. To be fair their armor did hold up against them, but all it took was one lucky shot and there were hundreds of quarrels flying down on them.

Alaric and his men pushed forward, while they would have preferred catching the entire army, wiping out the knights would make the next battle much easier. Speaking of easy, as they pushed forward he realized that dispatching them was getting much easier. Alaric realized that it was the continuous fire of arrows and quarrels, even if they were not killing the knights many of them were getting stuck on the armor itself, which it far harder for the knights in question to fight.

Boulders they had spent days carrying up the hills were crashing down on the knights. Some crushed under the boulders others flung into the river where their armor had them sinking to the bottom.

Trapped, cornered, no way to escape. They may have had their fancy armor and 'steel' weapons but it meant very little in the end, Lord Belmont had well and truly intended to annihilating the Andals and did everything he could to ensure they had no chance of turning the tide of battle back to their side.

Alaric and his men found the last of the knights huddled against the wall of the valley. His armor was littered with arrows sticking out, he had dropped his shield due to how many arrows and quarrels were lodged in it. He was afraid, this was definitely not what they expected to end up in. Alaric surged forth and landed the killing blow and the knight fell.

"Victory is ours!"

He heard his lord's voice loud and clear and with that declaration, Alaric could hear the resounding cheer that came from the rest of the soldiers.

He was shaken from his reverie when he heard the unmistakeable orders of a number of sergeants ordering their men to form up in spear walls. Alaric looked and found the Andal's foot infantry had arrived.

Alaric had resigned himself to another bout of combat, though the lack of knights would make it much easier. Alaric could tell that many of his comrades had thought the same as he watched as the ones in the rear took formation and advanced upon the Andals... only to find them fleeing for their lives.

* * *

"What happened to the Knights?!" The Knight leading the column was shocked at the sight that had greeted him.

The River was red with blood, he could see the corpses of his fellow knights and their horses strewn all over the valley. he saw corpses that had clearly been crushed, but he could not see what had done it. What truly caught his attention was the loud cheer. He saw the banners of House Belmont among the soldiers.

"They were annihilated? How is that possible?!"

Ser Walder cursed to himself when he realized that the footmen had heard him and were now fleeing, trampling over themselves and dropping their arms and taking off their armor, too frightened to face their enemies.

"Flee for your lives!" One of the footmen shouted. If the enemy could wipe out the knights then what chance did they have?

"Cowards! Get back here!" Ser Walder bellowed, intended on forcing them to attack, he was dissuaded from the notion when he saw the Belmont soldiers had stopped cheering, and began taking formations, advancing upon them, rank upon rank of spears...

* * *

Adrian surveyed the battlefield, taking a small measure of satisfaction from the fact that his plan had worked. At that moment he found one of the knights still alive, arrows had penetrated the armor but did not hit anywhere that was immediately lethal. Based off of the livery on his armor he most likely held a degree of command.

These Andals especially those in power sure loved their decoration. It was how his father was able to single out the Andal King in the midst of the carnage that was High Heart. Then again who was he to speak, while not necessarily decorative his armor did in fact stand out.

Adrian was shaken from his thoughts when he realized the knight was awake, coughing and rasping. Maybe the arrows struck somewhere that was not vital?

The Knight in question was looking at Adrian, glaring as if he could strike him down with his stare. Adrian chose to speak addressing them in their tongue since they found the native language so 'barbaric'.

"Was it worth it? to drag all your men here, to die like this?" Ser Harold Arryn found Crimson Eyed heathen that they had been sent to kill staring at him.

"...Damn you Belmont, I hope you suffer in the Seven Hells you honorless cur." The Knight rasped. The Knight grew confused when he realized they were now tending to his wounds.

Honorless? Adrian could feel his blood boil. What did these fools know about honor? Adrian had known naught but hypocrisy from these knights. Mayhaps some may follow the beliefs they're supposed to espouse, but not all of them, and most certainly not these knights.

At that particular moment, Adrian finally made out the Knight's House Sigil...

And the realization had caused all reason to flee from his mind, replaced by anger and fury. Only to feel the anger ebb and flow away, another realization hitting him, his anger was replaced by something far more malicious.

Adrian chose to follow his Grandmother's example.

"I was simply going to kill you, put you out of your misery. But I've changed my mind _Arryn._" The heathen had begun speaking in their tongue once again, except now he spoke in a harsh, guttural tone, his family name practically hissed.

But even then, he knew that the heathen's voice had taken a more sinister turn. The Knight felt a pit form in his stomach, every instinct telling him to flee as Belmont stared at him. But now it did not feel like a man was staring at him. It felt more like a predator was sizing him up, trying to decide if it should eat him or not.

The knight could only watch as Belmont spoke in his savage tongue, gestured to the healer who looked confused and seemed to have questioned his orders, only to nod his head in affirmation.

The healer then shoved a funnel in the mouth the knight and poured a liquid down his throat,_ it was Milk of the Poppy_ the knight had realized. As he drifted to sleep Ser Harold knew he would not see his father again and prayed to the Mother that he would never wake up, especially as he heard Belmont's parting words in Andal tongue, spoken clearer than he had heard several native speakers ever speak.

"I won't kill you. But do not worry...you'll simply wish I did."

* * *

**Extra Scene: Allegiance to the North**

**_Winterfell_**

King Jon of House Stark was intrigued.

Word had reached him of Stormlanders camped outside of Moat Cailin and another group that was riding to Winterfell. The Red Kings were silent, no doubt more worried about the coming winter rather than the millennia-long feud. Casting his thoughts on the Red Kings aside, Jon waited in the courtyard, watching as the gate opened to reveal armored riders bearing the sigil of a sword dividing a skull and a helmet, Bronze on Blue.

King Jon could recognize the sigil of House Belmont, despite their status as southron house many of his vassals raised a cup of ale when they heard of the tales of them combating the Andal Invaders. Jon knew that many a southron house feared them, the Dauntless Vanguard of the Storm Kings. Why were they here though? He had heard a rumor that House Belmont had seemingly fallen out of favor with the Storm King, but to leave their home in the Stormlands?

He had been taken aback when he realized that noble was accompanied by the one Children of the Forest.

"Why are you here Lord Robert?"

The Lord removed his helmet, his armor was covered in dust and dirt, the telltale signs of long travel. It was at that moment that Jon knew that the rumor of Robert Belmont's death was most likely true. The noble in question looked fairly young, he had raven black hair and his eyes were mismatched Amber and Crimson like the leaves on a weirwood and almost wolf-like. Robert Belmont was known for having amber-yellow Eyes and crimson eyes were also a known trait. Mismatched eyes not a known trait... but beast-like eyes were among the more infamous characteristics of their house.

"My father is dead, your grace. I cannot call myself that any more your grace, King Ormund had stripped my house of their status. We were cast out of the Stormlands because we chose to stay true to our faith rather than convert to their worship of the Seven, King Jon."

Exile the Belmonts? Their own cadet branch? The King would not have believed it, had he not heard rumors of the Andals simply marrying into the noble houses of the south and exerting influence through that method. But to think they could influence them to such an extent...

Yet despite the words of the former noble, King Jon could not help but raise an eyebrow, before meeting him, he had heard many reports of the massive camp that was following the former lord.

"Yet, so many still follow you…" At his words, Lord Belmont almost grimaced but caught himself.

"They chose to follow me, though a fair number of them are distant kin the rest simply served under my house. Even after I had released them from their oaths to me many in the camp chose to follow me when they realized I was heading to the North, your grace."

"And why did you come to the North?" What could motivate a Southern House to journey to a 'frozen wasteland' as others have called it?

"Many reasons, but foremost of them to swear myself, what remains of my house and those who choose to follow me to you King Jon."

"Why?" The King asked.

"We could have simply accepted the demands of the King, but we did not."

Adrian had quietly conceded to himself that it was also a case of stubbornness on his family's part as they were often taught to venerate the old gods since they were children.

"Many generations of my house fought for House Durrandon. It was the founder of my house that saved the Durrandon line, my ancestors fighting and dying at their command. When the Andals invaded we fought them for centuries because our king commanded us to do so. Now? The Andals come into our homes and marry into our houses. King Ormund submitted to his Andal bride's demand to have us stripped of our lands and titles. All because we fought them off out our previous king's command." Lord Belmont stated, his tone growing colder the more he spoke, he had spat the last words.

"My ancestors bled for his house! and this is how he thanks us?! The North is the among the few places that their 'faith' is not practiced, the Andals will eventually turn their eyes here eventually, and if you accept us then they will find me and mine on the battlements, fighting them on every battlefield, Like we did when they first step foot here!" Adrian Belmont roared, his resentment at how his house been treated coming to the forefront.

Did they not serve loyally? Did they not bleed, did they not bring victory upon victory for their king?

King Jon was silent, he was weighing the benefits and drawbacks of taking them in. For one thing, there would be more mouths to feed during the winter, which was an inevitable drawback of accepting their fealty. Secondly, they were southron, outsiders. It was one of the few reasons that the rest of his vassals would object to accepting, though the fact that they were followers of the Old gods would keep his vassals silent to some extent.

The benefits of taking them in were also something to take note of. The Durrandon's could attribute much of their military success to their cadet branch. House Belmont was feared by the other kingdoms as the Dauntless Vanguard of the Storm King, crushing his foes and attaining victory in the name of the Durrandons. The loyalty they displayed was infamous to some extent as they were known for being incorruptible, no amount of bribes or 'gifts' could sway them into changing their allegiance, even Garth Goldenhand marrying one of his daughters into their House did not dissuade them from attacking the Reach when the Storm king ordered them to do so decades after the Gardner King's death.

Their loss, his gain. House Belmont had been betrayed by their previous king, King Stark would do everything in his power to ensure that his descendants would not do the same.

"Very well."

They walked to the Godswood, Adrian Belmont drew his sword and knelt.

"Upon my honor, I swear my undying loyalty to House Stark, I pledge my faith and that of mine kin. Hearth and harvest we yield up to you. Our swords and spears and arrows are yours to command. Grant mercy to our weak, help to our helpless, and justice to all, and we shall never fail you. May the Gods above judge me, and the Others below take me, if I fail in my duties. This I swear, On Bronze and Iron, Earth and Water, On Ice and Fire..."

The King had gasped as before his eyes, more Children of the Forest emerged from the Heart Tree itself...

* * *

**Extra Bits: **

**The Belmont Clan: Brothers and Sisters in Exile and Grief**

Compared to other Houses the known origins of House Belmont were relatively humble* and though it bears no proper name there was an entity behind House Belmont, the Clan. Known only as a Clan of First Men, The Belmont Clan was originally composed of Northern Tribesmen who resided in the Weeping Water. With many of their kin slaughtered and those who survived ousted by the Red Kings of the Dreadfort, the nascent Belmont Clansmen and women had vowed that they would one day return to their home and avenge their lost loved ones, this vow would not be fulfilled until almost millennia later.

Those who would become the Belmonts had simply traveled the breadth of Westeros. They had eventually settled in a valley not far from Cape Wrath near the Sea of Dorne after being ousted from the North.

It was perhaps a stroke of luck for the Storm King Durran the Young had been fleeing from Dornish Assassins when he stumbled upon the Clansmen led by a woman who was later known as Sofia.

Granting him the guest right, Sofia brought the dying king to their camp and treated his wounds. As the King was recovering the Dornish Assassins had brought a small host in pursuit only to find the clansmen present. Sofia had outright admitted that the Storm King was present and under her protection. Incensed the Dornish banners of House Yronwood attacked the clansmen.

King Durran had woken up in the midst of the battle, and when he finally gathered the strength to leave the small lodging he had been placed in, he found himself staring at the aftermath of the battle with warriors of House Yronwood laying dead or dying. The grateful king had decided to ennoble Her and wed his youngest son to Sofia, founding the Noble house of Belmont. The newly ennobled House Belmont established holdings in two locations of the Stormlands, Mistfall and a small town that would later be known as the Weeping Town years into the Targaryen rule.

Yet despite the ennoblement, Sofia maintained her ties to the other clansmen who in turn supported her in a variety of ways. Allowing House Belmont to gather significant assets at a rapid pace. One of the few times the Clan had complete influence over House Belmont was if the house had somehow been annihilated. If brought to near-annihilation the Clan would select several elder members to act as a sort-of regency council for the House if the survivor had yet to reach his or her majority. If the House been brought to annihilation the Clan would convene and choose a clansman to take the name of Belmont. While the House had never been brought to the brink of extinction, there have been several occasions where the Clan had to form a regency council. Another occasion where they showed strong influence was when they had ensure the preservation of the noble line, such as the case with Adrian Belmont where a member of the clan an individual simply known as Theo (posthumously acknowledged as Theo Belmont by Lord Adrian Belmont) took the place of Adrian Belmont in executing his plan to annihilate the Andals.

When Lord Robert Belmont was stripped of his lands and titles it was the entirety of the Belmont Clan that would form the core of those who would follow the Exiled House Belmont. The Clan expanded significantly when they returned North. These clansmen would end up marrying into a number of minor noble houses or even establishing new minor houses at the behest of House Belmont, other clansmen would enter a variety of trades resulting in house Belmont possessing large retinues of tradesmen in addition to their army.

By the time of Aegon's Conquest there were three houses that could arguably be referred to as branch houses due to their ties to House Belmont. Though unintentional it is through their ties to their clansmen that the Belmonts had inadvertently built a large sphere of influence in the South-western portion of the Northern Kingdom. House Ryswell, Dustin are among the more notable noble houses that can call themselves kin to House Belmont and by extension the Belmont Clan. There was at the time a single cadet branch of House Belmont, House Forrester whom were charged with tending the ironwood groves in the place of House Belmont. By the time of Robert's Rebellion House Belmont had established an official cadet branch, House Seastar of Sea Dragon's Point.

* * *

**War in the Sunset Sea**

The Wars in the Sunset Sea refer to the many low-intensity conflicts that broke out into full-scale warfare between the North and the Iron Islands, or more specifically House Hoare and House Belmont. Due to them settling on the Western Coast of the North, House Belmont has often found itself confronting Ironborn Reavers, with the blessing of the King, the Belmont's built a fleet of warships to combat the Ironborn menace. Through the fleet, the Belmont's had ended the Ironborn's complete control of the Sunset Sea.

During King Theon Stark's campaign in the south, The Belmont Navy invaded and annexed several of the Iron Islands, Blacktyde, Old Wyk, Orkmont and Harlaw. While the Ironborn were in most cases unsuccessful in retaking these islands, it was the island of Old Wyk that saw the most fighting as it was considered a holy place by the Ironborn. For the next several centuries the Ironman's bay ran red with the blood of Northmen and Ironborn with neither side giving any ground. The Ironborn who lived on the Annexed isles save for Old Wyk had been assimilated into Northern Culture. Fishing, Sailing, and service under the Northern Navy allowed the Ironborn smallfolk to enrich themselves. But all good things come to an end. King Harren Hoare had amassed a massive host in an attempt to drive the Belmont's and Northmen out of the Iron Isles once and for all.

The Northmen had resigned themselves to another series of bloody conflicts, but this changed when a missive was received from the King. King Torrhen Stark had ordered a full-scale withdrawal from Iron Isles. The Naval Battle in Ironman's Bay ended the Northern presence in the Iron Islands. Lord William Belmont commanded the Navy in a delaying action while the Northerners and Ironborn loyal to the Kings of Winter began their exodus. The battle began at dawn and ended by dusk with Lord William Belmont ordering the withdrawal of the fleet.

After their departure, the Ironborn who joined the Northerners settled on the coastlines of stony shore or on Cape Kraken. King Torrhen Stark had ordered fortifications built around Cape Kraken, the Flint Cliffs became home to a series of small fortresses that made scaling the cliffs a daunting task. The Combination of the Belmont Navy and the entrenchment of Cape Kraken rendered a naval invasion of the North via the Sunset sea an untenable task as the Ironborn had found when they attempted to raid the North. While King Harren Hoare celebrated his 'victory' over the vaunted and feared Belmonts, the King had nevertheless vowed revenge on William Belmont for slaying two of his sons in the climactic battle. All the while, as this occurs King Aegon Targaryen began his conquest of the Seven Kingdoms...

* * *

**The really Long AN:**

**Random tidbits related to the AU:**

**Relations between the Targaryens and the Belmonts are complicated, to say the least. A reviewer put it best, The Belmonts were serving the forty families of the Freehold as mercenary bodyguards for a time, handling mundane issues/ things where using a dragon to solve the problem would be a suboptimal solution (and other more secret duties that involved dealing with Rogue Dragonlords) . which is to say they knew the figurative pecking order among the Dragonlords and are aware of how the Targaryens were essentially on lower end on the totem pole, so to speak and things were a bit more awkward when Aegon realized who they were.**

**There were Targaryen women that married into House Belmont, poor bastards have a soft spot for women. This has happened three (technically four) times. The Women in question were Visenya Targaryen (elaborated on in the future in an overview chapter), Princess Elaena Targaryen sister to Baelor the Blessed and Princess Daella Targaryen, daughter to King Maekar and sister to Aegon the fifth. For the sake of consistency, I'll state that Daella was born much earlier than in canon in this AU.**

**If you want to go with several butterflies that would occur due to Visenya marrying into House Belmont, the easiest one to make note of is Maegor the Cruel being a Belmont rather than a Targaryen, for the AU. He was actually good friends with his cousin Aenys and he was Jaehaerys' regent. He did the same thing he did in canon breaking the back of the Faith Militant, though this was sparked by an assassination attempt that nearly killed Aenys and the Warrior's Son's having the audacity demand a Trial of the Seven for the conspirator. He was dismissed from the court when Jaehaerys' came of age in order to both placate the Faith and disband the remnants Faith Militant.**

**Incidentally enough he's probably more hated in the AU then he was in canon for several reasons, One he was Belmont who were (as far as the faith is concerned) synonymous with the devil, Two he was a Northerner raised in lands of heathens, three he was a Targaryen through his mother Visenya, Four he broke the back of the faith militant in a rather spectacular fashion (ordering roman-styled proscriptions on septons and members of the Faith Militant and setting fire to several important septs come to mind).**

**Lastly, as you could tell from the final part of the Massacre, the Arryns and the Belmonts do not get along. another AU fact to take note of is that the Sisters are firmly a part of the North and that up until the Targaryen era and if the Starks ordered them to, the Belmont's gladly launched attacks on the Pureblooded Andals of the Vale.**

* * *

**Will be a while before the next update so here's a list of additional titles the Belmont's were granted, they never really brag about any of them.**

**Lord/Lady of Blackstone, Moat Cailin and Sea Dragon's point**

**Lord of Ironwrath (Former, Ironwrath given to the Cadet Branch of Forrester)**

**Shield of the North**

**Sentinels of the Sunset Sea**

**Master of War (less of a title but a position given to them by the Winter Kings, will be elaborated on in the future)**

* * *

**Nicknames/Sobriquets (or informal titles)**

**Breakers of the Red Kings**

**Bane of the Ironborn**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: This was not meant to be the original chapter, the upcoming chapter was meant to be a snippet with Aegon the Conqueror before the Conquest. But I rewrote the original chapter twelve times and still wasn't satisfied and I didn't want to leave people who showed interest in this hanging. So here, a snippet and some World-building.**

**Some sort-of retconning on my part, after they were granted land in the North, the Head of House Belmont was known as a Magnar which is the old-tongue term for Lord. As such the previous entry with William Belmont will be altered in the future.**

* * *

**Prelude to the Siege**

_"I do not who you are, and frankly I do not care. Mayhaps my ancestors committed some crime against your family long ago, it does not matter. If your grudge mattered so much to you, then you should have attacked Moat Cailin or Blackstone, not terrorize villages and slaughter the smallfolk. In the end, your actions do not matter, you are not the first person to attack us and you won't be the last. But I promise you, here and now, that you will not live to see your king again. You will die here and you will be nothing more than a reminder to your King that unlike the South, he will have to sacrifice much more if he wishes to defeat us__._

_ \- _Parting words of Magnar William Belmont to the unknown Dragon Rider, first day of the Siege of Moat Cailin. Historians would later refer to him as 'the Dragonslayer'

**_Second-year of Aegon's Conquest..._**

The bow in his hands was old, as old as the Freehold. Recently restrung, this bow had been sitting the vaults of Blackstone for the better part of a century. Unlike the bows of Ironwood and Weirwood utilized by his soldiers, this bow was made of Dragonbone with blood-red runes carved into it.

The Arrow struck true.

He notched another and let it fly.

_The Rider of the Grey Dragon will die._

When William had led a sally to attack the approaching Targaryen vanguard, a Dragonrider had attacked Cape Kraken.

It was a blunder that William would curse himself for during the rest of his days, he had been so focused on resettling the Ironborn and fortifying the Moat that it did not occur to him that somewhat would have attacked the Cape.

The unknown rider did not attack Moat Cailin, nor Blackstone, nor any other castle. He or she attacked the villages on Cape Kraken.

More than ten thousand dead, and they've yet to find a survivor.

He had maintained a correspondence with the Valyrian Enclaves, those who had settled in his lands a little over a century ago with the blessing of his ancestors.

William halted his practice, and walked towards the end of the practice grounds, stopping at a table with a box.

He opened it, inside it was five arrows. The arrowheads were made of glass-like material that was glossy-black, the shafts were made of weirwood with black fletching. Like the bow, the arrows had blood-red runes that danced along the shaft and head.

The leaders of the Enclaves said that as far as they could tell, the magic imbued into the arrows had not waned. That as far as they could tell it would work if it was used.

Their ties with the Dragonlords began millennia ago, with the blessing of the King, his ancestors had served as sellswords for the Freehold. They had treated their employers as if they were their kings and served loyally. The only thing that truly caught William's attention when he was reading through the old journals was that the Dragonlords had forbade them to bring wargs.

It was a curious thing, his ancestors thought it strange to forbid them, but agreed nonetheless.

There were many theories among his ancestors as to why, some of them seemed possible, while others came across as mummery.

But William and a number of his ancestors had mused that the Dragonlords feared that the Skinchangers could subvert dragons. It was possible and in a strange way, it would explain why the Dragonlords never went further than Dragonstone.

Fear of their own weapon turned against them.

It was something he could ask his mother about, as she herself was a skinchanger.

It was something to consider.

Because of these ties, William's Ancestors witnessed history being made.

And wondered if the eyes of the Freehold would come further west.

He was not sure on how he should feel about the fact that his ancestors never once considered diplomacy with the Dragonlords to ensure they would not turn their eyes to Westeros, but considering how this King Aegon had been acting since he began his conquest, he was inclined to believe that it would not have worked. His ancestors must have come to the same conclusion. After the end of the Ghiscari Wars, Moat Cailin saw significant reconstruction and improvements, why his ancestors ordered these things to be done was never truly known.

Texts, Manuals, and Treatises of tactics that originated from the former Ghiscari Empire found their way to the Western Kingdom. His ancestors often cited that if the Ghiscari could fight several wars against a nation with hundreds of dragons, then adapting their methods of war would prove a boon.

With the destruction of the Rhoynar came the lack of need for sellswords, and as such, they were largely dismissed. It would not be for another century that they would step foot in the Freehold but not as soldiers but bodyguards. Their lack of ties to the others made them more trustworthy.

A contradiction if William had ever heard one.

Bound by blood-oaths, his ancestors were impartial judicators... and if some journals were to be believed, executioners. Until they were dismissed again, a few years before the Doom.

He could not tell if it was the truth, or if it was the passage of time blurring fact and myth.

But such was their place in the Freehold, that when the doom came a large number of survivors, former subjects of the Dragonlords actually sought sanctuary in the lands of the Mercenaries and formed the Valyrian Enclave of Blackstone in an attempt to preserve what little remained of Valyrian Culture.

William picked up one of the arrows and traced the runes on the arrowhead.

As long as it hits, the old story goes, it will kill. A weapon made by Fourteen of the Forty Families to make sure that the recently elevated houses would not overreach. As far as the Valyrians and perhaps maybe now the Targaryens were concerned, the Arrows were destroyed after his ancestor's dismissal from the Freehold.

The truth was that there were only twenty such examples of these arrows had survived the Doom and five of them were here alongside one of the three remaining bows.

There were two ways he had planned to kill the damn thing.

The first method involved letting the dragon get close enough so that he could shoot it down with the arrow.

The second involved having the scorpions target the dragon's wings while archers aimed at the rider, when the dragon was grounded, they would fire everything they had at it.

There was a possible third way, but it was only a theory.

His mother was coming to the Fortress and would be here by sunset, the Targaryen Vanguard would not be here til Sunrise at the earliest.

If his mother could take control of the Dragon, then it could either be grounded long enough to keep it there or turned on the enemy...but that was a big 'if' and the cynical part of him thought it would be unlikely.

A small part of him could not help but hope it was possible, his men would suffer far less in the upcoming siege if they could take it down at the beginning.

William placed the Black Arrow back in the box and walked back to the range.

_A well-placed Scorpion shot or a Black Arrow, the Dragon will die and if the Rider survives...They'll simply wish they hadn't._

Picking up an arrow stuck in the ground, he nocked it and let it loose.

The arrow struck true.

* * *

**Ashfield: The Early years of a Kingdom in all but name**

_"A Kingdom divided among itself cannot stand, but a Kingdom united as one can endure the impossible."_ \- King Jon Stark, Not a single Northerner was amused when Aegon The Conquerer attempted to use these words as justification for submission.

_'This is our gift to Magnar Belmont' - _Attributed to the Smallfolk of Stony Shore who burned down their own village to deprive the Ironborn of resources and shelter as they had chosen to attack during the onset of Winter

In their domain, the Belmont's were sovereigns in all but title. After giving Adrian Belmont the title of Magnar or lord in the Old Tongue, the King of Winter gave them significant latitude in how they settled in the North. When House Belmont arrived in the North, the kingdom had yet to be united* several Houses such as Ryswell, the Barrow Kings, House Ryder and the Red Kings were the largest faction of Northern Houses that opposed House Stark.

Before they could confront said foes, winter had arrived and no one was willing to fight in such circumstances. When Winter ended King Jon Stark rallied his allies, House Glover, Umber, Mormont and many others in a bid to unite the Northern Kingdom before the Andals turned their eyes North.

Adrian Belmont had to take measures to rectify the pitiful state his forces were in. Of the Twenty-five thousand that left the formers Belmont holdings there were only five thousand of them that remained. The Battle at High heart saw almost half of the Belmont Army destroyed. Brigands and Andal Knights harassed them as they made their trek North which caused their numbers to dwindle. When they had settled for winter he lost more men, not to starvation, but illness. When Winter ended another portion had to be dismissed, Some dismissed because they were too old and would not be able to campaign, others dismissed due to their injuries leaving them incapable of campaigning.

The forces of House Fenn and House Reed had made themselves known and after swearing allegiance to the Winter King added their forces to that of House Belmont. With the addition of the two houses, Adrian Belmont had approximately eight-thousand soldiers to face the forces of House Ryswell and those of the Barrow Kings whom both numbered in the tens of thousands.

In a series of battles as well as pincer movements made by the Winter King, the combined forces of Ryswell and the Barrow Kings were driven back, and the Barrow Kings had been besieged by House Belmont and the head of House Ryswell had been captured by Adrian. In the end, House Ryswell had surrendered and the Barrow Kings were nearly wiped out the surviving member, Princess Serena Dustin surrendered and acknowledged the sovereignty of the Winter King who in turn had her wed Magnar Adrian, their second-born son Rodrik would formerly found House Dustin of Barrowton two decades later.

With the proper unification of the North completed, King Jon Stark did the unprecedented, he granted the conquered lands of Stony Shore, Barrowton, and the Rills to House Belmont. Many were shocked that the outsiders were granted such influence. However, the king had addressed those concerns with his concerned subjects in private, while disgruntled those who opposed had acquiesced.

For a time, the Belmonts had fully adjusted to their new homes and dare they say, thrived. The first real challenge they faced in their new homes was not Winter, but the Ironborn. Though a number of his subjects were familiar with the concept of sailing, The Belmonts had lacked a naval presence during their early years, this would change with the first Ironborn invasion.

The first Ironborn attack ended in pyrrhic victory as far as Adrian Belmont was concerned. Yes, they had been driven off, but many of the smallfolk had been killed and some of the Ironborn had escaped with their plunder of food and treasure. Perhaps the only saving graces was that a dozen longships that were meant to ferry thralls and salt wives were captured before they could escape. These longships were immediately put to service in defending the western coast. With the blessing of the King, Adrian Belmont had temporarily claimed a portion of land to build ships without external interference, this location would later be known as Torrhen's Square.

By the time the Ironborn had returned an additional four galleys were added to the nascent Belmont Fleet which now numbered Sixteen ships. The surviving Ironborn had returned to the Iron island and began preparing for a second invasion. The Belmont's were not idle, making their own preparations. When the Ironborn arrived it was perhaps the worst time they could have chosen to do so, as winter had arrived. Adrian Belmont had his subjects evacuated further inland and anything that could not be taken was destroyed.

The Ironborn had realized they had come for nothing as all they had to show for coming to the North was death and starvation. When they finally chose to cut their losses, the Belmonts attacked. As they marched farther inland, Adrian had ordered his soldiers to capture or destroy the longships, when they returned they found the long-burned out wrecks of their ships and an army of vengeful Northmen waiting for them. The Belmonts had treated the Ironborn as they had treated the Andals who drove them from their homes, which was to say that they were wiped to a man, their corpses impaled on stakes situated on the coastline of Stony Shore as a warning. One that the Ironborn would heed for least two generations.

The evacuated smallfolk had settled near a series of escalating plateaus situated near the mouth of the River that divided the Stony Shore and the Rills. Adrian Belmont had climbed to the highest plateau and found it defensible, and an ideal location to build a castle. With permission from the King, Adrian Belmont set down the foundations of the Skyhold, the Castle from which the City of Blackstone would be built around years after Adrian Belmont's passing.

For a long time, the regions conquered by the Belmonts were simply known as the Belmont Domain. If the Winter Kings had given it a proper name, it has been lost with the passage of time. Its current name was often said to be a corruption of the original name, but by the time of the Targaryen rule, the name of the Region would be 'Ashfield' for the Ash Trees that grew all over the Belmont Domain since their arrival**.

* * *

**Knightly Orders**

It was perhaps a strange irony that Southron Knights would swear themselves to House Belmont, but in a strange twist of fate, such a thing did came to pass. In terms of numbers, these orders possess hundreds of knights. Two of these orders descend hailed from the South, having fled to the North during Aegon's Conquest. When peace was made several members of these orders protested but obeyed, feeling that their oaths to their new sworn lords meant more to them than avenging their fallen kings. Despite their obedience, these orders nevertheless held no small amount of enmity towards the Targaryens of the South and as a result, they gladly sent most of their number to aid Lord Belmont during Robert's Rebellion.

The original members of these orders worshiped the Seven Gods but by the time of Targaryen rule, the later members of the Order would follow the Old Gods.

**Order of Silvermist Rangers**

_"Shrouded in the mist they were, the Ironborn never saw them coming... When the mist cleared there were over two hundred Ironborn dead, and before them they could only see maybe forty men who were already departing towards the Wolfswood..." - _Witness account of the Silvermist Rangers

Of the three orders sworn to House Belmont the Order of Silvermist Rangers are the largest in number. Knights who abandoned the traditional knightly methods of fighting in favor of utilizing the bow. The Silvermist Order was formed by a group of hedge knights who detested the hypocrisy displayed by a number of Knights in the South. Detested and unwanted these hedge knights began hunting and killing brigands, slavers and reavers. Eventually, their travels brought them to the North. After aiding House Belmont in repelling Ironborn reavers, they were offered both a place to stay and resources to continue their duties.

Among the most infamous Foot Archers at the disposal of House Belmont. In terms of duties, the Silvermist Rangers have always patrolled Ashfield be it in peace or war with only a few dozen leaving to join the Belmont's Call to arms.

**Order of the Green Hand**

The Last of the Gardner Knights had sworn fealty to the noble house of Belmont in the Aftermath of the Field of Fire. It was only through House Manderly that the surviving members found sanctuary in the North. The surviving knights were among the first to volunteer when William Belmont had led what most students of strategy would call a suicidal attack on the Targaryen Vanguard camp, had it not been successful.

The Greenhand Knights showed a mastery of horsemanship that was unrivaled in the North and very few in the south could hope to match and have a number of chapter houses located in the Rills. The Order of the Greenhand often sends their knights around Ashfield to lead patrols during peacetime and often lead the Vanguard of House Belmont's Heavy Horse in battle.

**Order of the Ebony Gauntlet**

Knights of the Stormlands, once loyal to the Durrandons. The Order of the Ebony Gauntlet like the Belmonts served the Storm King diligently, most of their number fell during the last storm to the flames of Meraxes. Those who survived traveled North and swore themselves to the remnants of the Durrandon Line***.

Clad in full plate, the knights of the Order fight on foot with either Two-handed Warhammers or Poleaxes. After their swearing their oaths of allegiance the Knights of the Ebony Gauntlet adopted the Belmont Arbalest, an infamous weapon among knights as an additional weapon to their armories. Unlike the other two Orders who patrol the Lands in times of peace the Knight of the Ebony Hammer act as crack troops under House Belmont as well as acting as bodyguards to the last remaining members of a lineage they had failed. They predominately stay in Blackstone, at most patrolling the vicinity of the city.

The men (and sometimes women) who squired for these orders fought beside the Knights in a manner that covered for the knight's natural weakness. Squires of the Silvermist Order could fight with a bow like the Knights but often wielded halberds to screen for the Rangers. Squires of the Ebony Gauntlet utilized well-made crossbows to help cover the advance of the foot Knights and the Squires of the Greenhand Order fought as a mounted skirmishing force.

* * *

**Ashfield Levies:**

_"The Masters of Blackstone were ferocious warriors and able commanders; It was and in the case of their descendants still is in their blood. If you wished to avoid retribution, you had better annihilate them, completely and utterly. Even before they had been exiled North there had been many tales of the former Lords of the Marches being reduced to a handful of youths, only to make a triumphant return and unleash bloody vengeance upon those who had attacked them, Reachmen, Westermen, Dornish, Valemen or even Ironborn, it did not matter. If one faces the Masters of Blackstone on the field, wipe them out, leave no survivors. Lest they make the tales of old a reality once more." -_ passage of a ruined book, author unknown. Suspected to have been written a decade before Aegon's Conquest

_"One should tread lightly when threatening them. An Ashfielder is never without a weapon within arm's reach" - _Northern saying

Though House Belmont relied on a sizable retinue of Men-at-Arms as the backbone of their army, what perhaps made them stand out among the newly forming Great Houses was the way they organized their smallfolk levies. To understand how this came to be, one must look back to the history of House Belmont and their time in the Stormlands. What most people did not realize was that the Smallfolk under House Belmont outnumbered the Clansmen rather than being predominantly clansmen, it was often assumed that the Belmont Clan was all that left with House Belmont. But it was not the case as a number Smallfolk under them had chosen to follow for their own reasons.

Guilds had risen and fallen during the age of a hundred kingdoms, but three of them had stood the test of time, the Miner, Woodsmen and Farmer Guilds that existed in the Belmont domain had persisted. The formation of the guilds began during the time of Sofia Belmont. Barring her clansmen, the newly ennobled Lady Belmont had very few subjects compared to her peers. Nevertheless, she needed soldiers and to achieve she had her clansmen seek out the more able-bodied men among her new subjects and trained them as soldiers.

The issue of numbers would persist for a long time, as the Durrandons had ordered them to relocate twice in the span of a decade and a half, losing their first seat of Mistwood followed by that of Blackhaven. The main reason for the relocations were more political as the other Vassals protested the fact that such arable land was in the hands of savages, and in the case of Blackhaven the idea that such a strategically important location be trusted to them. All of this, despite the fact that it was House Belmont who put the effort in to build up said Seats and had successfully fended off three Dornish hosts that attempted to take it. Lady Sofia Belmont was aware of the importance of said locations and accordingly, something the King had also taken note of.

The end result was King Durran ordering the House to relocate farther into the Dornish Marches. Annoyed with his vassals' belligerence, the king formally granting Sofia Belmont the title Lady of the Marches and making the de-facto ruler of the Marches. Most of the vassals made no protest, believing that the Marches having been so heavily contested by the men of the Reach and Dorne would destroy the 'upjumped savages' as making them the rulers would paint a target on their backs and in a way they were not wrong.

The King would also exempt her from taxes for the next decade and a half, as he knew that Lady Belmont would have to devote all of her resources to building and defending her new seat, the fact that these lands had never truly been part of the Storm King's demesne until the Belmonts had built Blackhaven may have played a part.

Three Bastards, one from the Stormlands and two from the other kingdoms, had approached the aging Sofia Belmont. Roland Flowers who led displaced Farmers, Jason Hill who led former Miners, and Alaric Storm who led Woodsmen away from their sworn lord after he had failed to protect them one too many times. They had brought many people with them, smallfolk. Hounded by petty kings and unscrupulous nobles, in fear for the survival of their people and in search of new homes, these three men would approach Lady Belmont and offer their skills and those of their people as labour.

Lady Belmont had been hesitant to agree, as she recognized the issue of taking care of so many smallfolk and that in times of war she could not guarantee their safety. She cited that her soldiers were divided between the newly built Nightsong and Harvest Hall and that unless if they were willing to take up arms, they would be defenseless when House Durrandon called House Belmont and it's small levies to war.

Jumping on this statement and knowing of House Belmont's growing reputation, Alaric Storm had stated that a number of his Woodsmen would be willing to serve as soldiers in times of war provided that House Belmont trained them, the Miners and Farmers had also agreed.

For Sofia, the idea had merit. All three groups could provide something useful. Miners could extract some of the mineral wealth in Mountains and quarry stone, Woodsmen could fell trees for materials and Farmers could ensure that they had proper harvests.

The most important thing to Sofia was the major traits of these pools of manpower, in the case of woodsmen and miners, they moved tones of heavy material and all three had smallfolk working in groups and working hard. Training said laborers to be able to fight would not be a difficult task as far as she was concerned. Weighing the benefits, she chose to negotiate with the three as she knew such an offer would come with a price.

For almost a week, Sofia Belmont and the three would negotiate. In the end, the newly formed 'guilds' had been granted rights and privileges that smallfolk in other Kingdoms lacked. But perhaps the most important stipulation that the guilds had to give was that of levies.

Written and among the few stipulations that cannot be altered in the agreement are as follows:

\- Guild members will have two years of training in and Warfare, between four-and-ten and six-and-ten.

\- On days and nights at Moon's turn, laborers are excused from their duties and take arms to practice warfare in an organized manner as agreed upon with House Belmont and its vassal houses, with Huskarls (Household Retainers) observing the drills.

\- All members of the Guilds must take up arms when House Belmont calls upon them to do so, with lots drawn to decide who would garrison the lands.

With the signing of the compact, the Three Guilds were formed.

This compact has stood for thousands of years, other guilds have formed over time attaining similar rights but in some cases things are different. Rather than provide manpower, these other guilds have provided other services such as Expert Engineers, Healers and a means of extending their supply lines. Much of the Smallfolk who lived in the Belmont domain would end up joining a guild.

In the beginning, this had given Sofia Belmont approximately Six Thousand additional troops which would help significantly when a lord from the Reach attempted to attack House Belmont's new lands. As generations passed these numbers would grow and fall. But as a result of Sofia Belmont's decision, House Belmont would become one of the more feared Nobles Houses in the Stormlands for their ability to mobilize a sizable army on short notice. These practices would persist when they settled into the North.

* * *

**Masters of the Bow**

"_An Archer from Raventree will rarely if ever miss, an archer from the Dornish Marches will hit you no matter how much you try to dodge. The Dornish of old made Archery into an art form, the coming Rhoynar changed that to some degree and the Dornish began placing a heavier emphasis on the Spear Phalanx. Like the Dornish of old, by the time an Ashfield Archer's first arrow hit's its mark, they will have loosed two more." - Unknown_

The use of Bow and Arrow in war became commonplace very easily. During their time in the Dornish Marches, House Belmont stumbled upon the recurve bow, a weapon utilized by Dornish Raiders and the Bandits hiding in the Mountains and began using it themselves. With the Dornish Marches constantly being attacked and having a limited pool of manpower, the Belmonts had to refine their methods of combat. The Clannish Warriors had to become trained soldiers.

Archery which was once relied on for hunting alone was now being used as a proper weapon of war. A combination of mimicking the Dornish raiders and a number of Dornish Renegades being coerced to train their people in Archery, refining it into a far deadlier weapon that would catch many of their enemies off-guard. It made the people of the Marches among the more dangerous forces in the nascent Seven Kingdoms. Something that would persist in the people of the Dornish Marches long after the Exile of House Belmont.

The Longbow was their main armament, and still was during a pitched battle. But the recurve bow grew in popularity as the conflict in the Marches was less massed-armies and pitched battles and more of warbands in a series of skirmishes, where usage of the Recurve bow was ideal. As such the Belmonts ensured that their people were well-versed in the usage of both, though recurve bows were favored by veteran hunters and soldiers alike. For a Belmont, it was considered a disgrace if you could not use one effectively.

The advent of the Crossbow did not bring about the end of Bow usage, as the Archery traditions had been too firmly ingrained into their culture, this resulted in crossbows being given to the least-experienced archers with the sole exception of those who were granted Arbalests, a more potent design of the Crossbow.

The most infamous display of their capabilities occurred during the Battle of the Trident, Old Alaric Belmont had ordered his forces to advance the night before the battle and entrench themselves closer to the Ford, digging trenches and placing stakes. When the battle began, it began on the Royal armies left flank, where the Belmonts had been stationed. When the Reach Host crossed they were immediately beset by a near-endless volley of arrows. To the shock of the Royals, the massed charge of the Reach Knights was arrested by the arrow storm, though their plate armor had protected them, some arrows still pierced their joints or even struck through the eye-slits and no small amount had found purchase by striking the horse. By the time they attempted to reform the Belmont soldiers had fallen upon them and pushed them back towards the later named Ruby Ford, what made it worse for the Royals despite outnumbering them was the fact that this had happened in the opening minutes.

Some students of the Citadel who sought to make their Iron links argue that contrary to popular belief, this was the crux that ended the Battle of the Trident in favour of the Rebels, as Prince Rhaegar had been forced to redeploy more men to his left flank in order to prevent the Belmonts from not only drving off the Reach Hose, but enveloping them. Unfortunately for the Royals, the rest of the rebels did not stand idle, the redeployment weakened the Center and Right Flank, allowing the rebels to force the royal army into the ford.

* * *

**AN:**

***I have no clue when the North united into one Kingdom, but the main premise is that the North wasn't fully united when the Andals arrived, and when Belmont's came North the Starks decided to unite the North once and for all so that when the Andals inevitably came North they would face a united front.**

****There are multiple factors for the Canon regions being more forested but the Children of the Forest are one of the main reasons why Ashfield has more trees.**

*****That will be discussed in the future**

**In this story, the divide between the North and the South is more pronounced than in canon, the Northerners were too culturally distinct to think that unification via Aegon's Conquest would be a good thing.**

**The Archery segment was personally a bit iffy, it was inspired by historical accounts of the Saracens who were reported to be capable of firing volleys of arrows in very rapid succession.**

**Some Canon events/Births of characters are being pushed forward and backward in terms of years, those who pay attention to those type of details will notice this in upcoming chapters/overviews, but the short of it is that the Targaryens tangled up the OC house's family tree.**

**Here's a list of Targaryens in the Belmont Family Tree:**

Visenya Targaryen (married Magnar/Lord William Belmont)

Elaena Targaryen (Married Asher Belmont)

Shiera Seastar (Did not marry, but is the mother of one Alaric Belmont, the former Princess Elaena is her aunt (Aegon IV is her cousin) by relation and Alaric's Grandmother)

Daella Targaryen (Married Alaric Belmont, Second or third cousins, Born a different year in this AU)

**So yeah, Targaryen rule did mess them up somewhat and it is somewhat of a plot point. (read: other Northerners are worried that the Targaryen madness bled over to the Belmont Line)**

**For the setting, a Black arrow is a Dragonglass Arrow enchanted/layered with Blood magic spells made by Valyrian Dragonlords/Sorcerers, while not discussed in this chapter making one was very difficult, taking about two years (If the knowledge hadn't been lost, it would still take much longer thanks to magic waning), and the slightest mistake could ruin that work very easily.**

**Using one requires two components, a specially designed Dragonbone bow and the Arrow itself. With magic being diminished, a Black arrow must directly hit the target in order to work. Back when magic was stronger, the Arrow simply needed to be fired in a dragon's general direction with the target in the mind of the bowman.**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: You may have noticed in the Overview of Ashfield that the Belmonts faced no rebellions from their subjects in the early years...**

**...that's not entirely true.**

**This is also most likely the last you'll see of Adrian Belmont because there's very little to cover about his actions after this.**

**Random fun facts: Ashfield did copy the Ironborn in one aspect of naval warfare, their oarsmen double as soldiers which means that rather than 35 marines, archers, artillery crew per 100 oarsmen, you can add those 100 oarsmen to the count of marines. They were adapting this after they annexed the Iron Islands, When Ironborn who joined the Northern Withdrawal settled down, they made up most of the naval crews which ensured that the practice would stay.**

**Not sure if I'll do an overview describing the entirety of their military capabilities so here's a simple Description.**

** The Ashfield Army: utilizing combined-arms strategies (think ASoIaF Golden Company) to make many noblemen who've faced them question the validity of knights on the battlefield long before Aegon began his conquest and long after it.**

* * *

**The Silent War**

_The Rills._

It should have been a perfect time to strike. The Belmonts were reeling from the First Ironborn Incursion they'd ever face. They were so focused on their preparations for their return that they'd yet to notice dissent.

The Belmonts had yet to realize that their newfound subjects would not bow to Southrons. Nor did they have the means to mount a proper response while fighting off the second Ironborn attack

Fighting off the Ironborn's second attempt at raiding, taking back their lands should have been an easy task. Take back their holdings and buckle down for the Winter, King Stark would have to fight them in the Spring and by then they could have consolidated. The Belmonts wouldn't fight a war so soon after fighting off the Ironborn when winter was approaching, right?

Wrong.

When they had been rallying warriors, the Belmonts had been enacting measures to take care of their new Smallfolk. Many of the rebel's former subjects had found their lives a little bit better under their new lords, only the most loyal had flocked to their side. It should not have mattered as most of them had marched off to fight the Ironborn leaving their homes defenseless...

It was another of many false assumptions.

The Belmonts had brought their strange practices and organizations with them. with the new way they did things this meant that even the smallfolk living near the castles had been trained in the usage of weapons, it was a shock to find old men and even women armed and armored and garrisoning the castles they had hoped to claim. They were not the greatest warriors, in a field battle they would have been slaughtered, losing five or ten for every one of theirs. But they were trained well enough that taking the castles successfully would have been a temporary victory at best.

They held out long enough for Magnar Belmont to find out and take action at a pace Rogar didn't realize was possible, it never really registered in his head, how fast the Southron soldiers could mobilize. By the time they had received word of Magnar Belmont's successful repelling of the Ironborn, he was already marching for them.

The only respite if any was that his soldiers had to be reorganized, which meant that he brought fewer troops to do battle at the onset.

The new Magnar led a force of two thousand against their Eight thousand, it should have ended in favor of the rebels. Those Two-thousand were his most battle-hardened troops, they had forced the rebels into a series of skirmishes in the course of a month.

It was the most painful month of Rogar's life, The Belmont soldiers slaughtered them. There was no pitched battle, only a series of unending skirmishes. Their forces were torn apart, piece by piece, and then came his reinforcements, another two-thousand, by that point the Belmonts had only lost hundreds compared to the thousands they had inflicted.

Not all of them could take it, in the end, the remaining three thousand soldiers with them had surrendered. The Household troops of the Rebel Nobles had been wiped out, all who remained were smallfolk. Because they were just smallfolk they were spared on the condition that they would relocate themselves and their families to recovered Stony Shore and eke out a living there.

Not a single one objected, and the attempted rebellion had died with a whimper.

Now the survivors were in the ruins of the camp, the surviving nobles corraled into a makeshift square that was the only intact remnant of the Rebel campsite.

With weapons at their backs, all they could do was glare hatefully at the Southron Magnar.

"Rogar Dustin… If I recall correctly, we had spared you during the last war. Frankly, it was only because you were kin to my wife and that she pleaded for your life that you were spared. Do you really think so little of her, to spit on her efforts?"

"That whore of a princess is no kin of mine!" He bellowed. Princess Serena Dustin had been left in Barrowton by his father, his cousin mounted a defense against the Winter King for a month, before she chose to surrender. She knelt before the King and he spared her, and she promptly spread her legs for the man responsible for the death of her uncle and her father.

_Ungrateful Bitch, _Rogar thought bitterly. How could she bow to the Winter Kings after all they had done?

By all accounts, her marriage to the Belmont was a happy one, and Rogar was certain he would take offense. So he had braced himself for a blow that never came. The Southron lord did nothing. His only response was to stare at him with a slight frown upon his face.

Only for one of the soldiers behind him to strike him in the back with a mace, Rogar lost control of his legs but the soldiers gripping him kept him from falling, another soldier gagged him and all he could do was glare defiantly as Belmont watched with the proceedings with irreverence.

Then Belmont turned away and addressed the arrayed prisoners.

"When King Jon granted you mercy, I spoke against it, I knew that if he did not kill you all, it would cause him grief. I even told him as much. It was only because he asked me to dismiss the matter that I left it be."

_Oaths made at swordpoint mean_ _little. _Rogar wanted to scream, but the gag forced him to stay silent, at the same time it occurred to them that the Belmonts had advocated for outright annihilation rather than mercy, which meant it was Jon Stark who gave them authority over them, rather than an actual decision by Magnar Belmont.

_A hundred curses on the Belmonts and thousand curses upon Jon Stark for bringing them here. _Rogar thought. The fact that he had brought outsiders into the conflict left a bitter taste in Rogar's thoughts more so because they had brought him Victory, the North belonged to the Kings of Winter as not even their ancient rivals could stand against them. The Belmonts laid ambushes and traps, sabotaging supplies and poisoning their soldiers, even going as far as to attack their camps at night with infiltrators.

They had killed his father in the middle of their camp, and not a single person had noticed until it was far too late.

"Oh, You're upset because you made that oath at swordpoint? You had two options, Death or Fealty. If your cause mattered so much to you, then you should have died for it, you should have struggled for it, you should have spat in our King's face rather surrender and try to pull this farce, You should have fought to the bitter end."

"You chose to swear a false oath before the Gods, and here we are, with you all rising in rebellion. Clearly, clemency was a mistake. No one will remember your names. Your immediate families save for your children shall be executed."

_One day they will be avenged,_ Rogar thought.

If the looks on the faces of the others were any indication, they also thought it would be the case, only for the Southron upstart to dash their hopes upon a rock.

Belmont saw their looks and smiled, which left them with an uneasy feeling in their stomachs that kept growing, as if he knew something that they hadn't taken into account.

"I did not say I would spare your heirs, they are all men grown and have made their decisions, and will have to live with it however little time they may have left."

"...Tis winter now, your _other _children if you have any, will be _raised_ in _my castle_ and they will be the ones to inherit your lands."

_No..._ a number of the Rebels immediately realized the implication of his words. Magnar Belmont carried on, ignoring the looks of mounting horror.

"As far as the King knows, You've prepared poorly for the Winter and as such, you sent your children to me so that they can be cared for, only for tragedy to strike, you and your heirs will all have died during the Winter, either by exposure to the cold, starvation or the Chills."

"The King will be saddened by your deaths, and I will be as well, he and I will accept that such things can and will happen, such is the danger of Winter, especially up here. I will play the role of the dutiful Magnar, I will _personally_ see to the education of your children and take care of your holdings for them."

_Your surviving sons and daughters will grow up hating you._ Was what the rebels realized he was saying.

They would survive a harsh winter under Magnar Belmont's care, he would tell the children lies about their deaths. By then, the truth will long be forgotten and even if it was uncovered their descendants would not care. By then, they would have long understood why their sworn lord acted as he did.

They would learn that to the Belmonts, Betrayal was the greatest offense. It was what brought them here in the first place, it was something that they themselves had realized too late.

If they ever sought the truth, their children would learn that their parents betrayed House Belmont and paid the price.

That the Belmonts decided in the _benevolence_ to spare them because they were innocent. Having been raised by their sworn lord since childhood, they would find it easy to accept such a thing as truth and delve no further.

They would never understand why their parents had done so, for they would have been raised in the ways of House Belmont and not of the North. Thus, the truth dies with them, not even the King of Winterfell will know what has transpired, for why would he care if his former enemies died during the Winter when death is too frequent of an occurrence at these times? He would never look into the matter and even if he did he would hear it from the Belmonts who would tell it from their perspective.

Dead men cannot speak.

Two of Belmont's soldiers came forth carrying a headsman's block and Magnar Belmont drew his blade. It was a strange blade. At first glance, the blade was colored bronze, but closer inspection allowed an observer to note the pale-white and rippling waves on the blade itself. The fuller had Runes carved into it, It looked similar to that of the Old runes, but Rogar could not decipher them, which implied that the blade itself was far more ancient.

_Where would they have gotten such a blade?_

His thoughts were cut short when he heard the first man being dragged to the block, demanding to have his last words be heard. Only for the Southron Magnar to cut his head off in one swift stroke.

"Traitors and Oathbreakers do not deserve to say their piece." Belmont coldly declared as the next man was dragged to the block.

"All you get is oblivion, embrace it." The second man was screaming up until the Blade fell down on his neck, a Ryswell, Rogar believed.

For the next hour, rebels were dragged to the block screaming, and Adrian Belmont's Blade kissed their necks, separating their heads from their shoulders.

The cloying smell of blood got stronger and stronger the more people he killed. The bodies were dragged off to be cremated and all Rogar could see was the growing and billowing stacks of smoke from the pyres.

_He barely looks winded, _Rogar thought.

Then it was his turn.

Rogar Dustin, last of the Barrow King line, having narrowly escaped the King of Winter in battle, outfoxed and caused headaches for Magnar Belmont for several years was now staring at the blade of his executioner.

The Soldiers dragged him up to the black, forced him to kneel, with his head laying on the block.

For a brief moment, Rogar was able to look into the Southron Magnar's eyes. He had heard that the Belmonts claimed to have been Northerners themselves, their ancestors exiled by the Red King's and forced to wander the South for generations. At that moment Rogar thought it might not have been some false claim, his eyes were cold, unyielding and decisive.

It was no false claim, He may have been born in the South but the Magnar bore the eyes of a man from the North.

_He is one of us after all..._ it was the last thought that ran through Rogar's mind.

The Blade fell down.

* * *

**Sea Dragon Point: The Arsenal of the West**

_"A location vital for the existence of the Ashfield Fleet, and as such it has been appropriately fortified, garrisoned and defended. Why the Ironborn often thought it would be easy to take is a mystery for the Ages." - _Unknown

In many ways, Sea Dragon point was an Ideal location, It was dotted with many coves which could be used as natural harbors. Seals, otters, Salmon were abundant which meant fishing could be done during all seasons and last but not least, the Lands around it were rich in Pine and Cedar Trees both ideal materials for shipbuilding. The features of said land had never escaped the notice of the Masters of Blackstone.

Its first incarnation was simply a naval base granted by the Starks to the Belmont's to be held in their demesne and it served it's purpose well. The ruined ringfort was restored and the many coves were used to anchor down the Fleet. As time went on what was originally meant to be a harbor became the largest complex of shipyards in Westeros. It's many coves repurposed into shipyards and it's close proximity to the Wolfswood and the multitude of Pine and Cedar forests gave immediate access to ideal shipbuilding materials.

When the Ironborn made an attempt to attack Sea Dragon's Point in an attempt to capture recently finished ships, House Belmont responded by strengthening its fleet further and launching counter raids. This culminated in the Taking of the Iron Isles during Theon Stark's Campaign. Sea Dragon point saw new construction, watchtowers, boom-chains and positions with ballistae and catapults were built. Yet it did very little to dissuade the Ironborn, the only boon, if there was any, was that the Ashfield Navy became far more experienced in Naval warfare than the rest of their peers in the other kingdoms, thanks to the fact that they had to drive off Ironborn ships and contest the Sunset Sea for generations.

Most of the Ashfield Fleet ships that had not been captured from the Ironborn had been built at Sea Dragons Point. Post Conquest, King Aegon was surprised to find out about its existence, at which William Belmont pointed out that he had to have gotten a fleet from somewhere. He was unaware for a long time that his wife Visenya was the only Targaryen aware of Ashfields Naval capabilities. At that point, King Aegon would them commission House Belmont to construct eighty War Galleys for the Royal Fleet, which was to the astonishment of the King were built and brought to King's Landing in less than a year.

By the time of Aerys the Mad, Sea Dragon Point was devoted to the maintenance of sea-going vessels rather than shipbuilding but had not lost the capability. Sea Dragon Point's industrial capability had often been compared to that of the Arsenal of Braavo's, more so when the Sealord himself had visited Sea Dragon Point he called it 'The Arsenal of the West'.

* * *

**AN: **

**Perspective matters. The Northerners are stubborn, it wouldn't be a surprise if they didn't like how things have changed.**

**You may notice that this was never mentioned the Ashfield overview, it was omitted on purpose, because as far as the rest of the North was concerned the Rebels weren't actually rebels, just people who died during the Winter as the Belmonts had pretty much covered it up, but informed their king when it was asked of them.**

**If you care for the perspective of the Belmonts, They were annoyed that the enemy was granted clemency when it would have made more sense to kill them(as they were aware that they would cause issues in the future and wanted to head that off), they acquiesced only because the king told them to.**

** So when they rebelled despite giving an oath of loyalty after being spared... well they had no inclination to spare the Rebels at that point, but at the same time wiping them out root and stem would have also been wrong as not all of them had rebelled (or in this case too young to rebel). The fact that it solidifies their control over their domain, via influencing the Rebel's successors was just icing on a cake they didn't realize they had up until that point.**

**Are the Belmont's being hypocritical or cruel? Maybe. From the Belmont perspective, they were waging war against the Rebels back when they were Kings. Though from the Rebel's perspective they forced to make an oath at metaphorical sword point, they had several choices.**

**1\. Lay down and die. (If they were in the same position, the Belmonts would've found this unacceptable)**

**2\. Keep Fighting (Belmonts would have chosen this in their position)**

**That is as far as the Belmont perspective was, but in reality, the rebels also had these options:**

**3\. Surrender and throw themselves at the Mercy of the Winter King **

**4\. Surrender and swear themselves to the Winter King**

**The Rebels chose Option four and due to certain practices in the North the defeated made their oath in the Godswood, due to their personal beliefs Magnar Belmont and his Clan essentially allowed it as they believed that the defeated would hold to oaths made before the gods, right?**

**Then the rebels break their oaths a few years later, which results in the above snippet.**

**Not sure if I did it justice in the end but it was meant to show that the OC House could be quite vicious (read: Adrian did order the deaths of men barely grown or Teenagers) when provoked and that they have a few pet peeves. The Belmonts during Seven Kingdoms Era and the Belmonts of the Iron Throne Era are different entities. One is far more ruthless and the ones we see in the future (read: Targaryen Rule) have more 'measured' responses, relatively speaking.**

* * *

**Dealing with Midterms at the moment so here are quotes with context about things to come.**

_"...Hey don't look at me, I didn't do it, this time at least." -_ **Said by every Belmont of Blackstone to the Stark in Winterfell at least once per generation.**

_"Every bout of madness that occurs here is often tied to the Belmont nearby..." -** Northern saying**_

_"I've always said the man was either insane or had balls of steel. Belmont had a dragon roaring in his face and treated the entire situation like he had been told the Mabari** had gotten into the Skyhold larders, which was to say stoic resignation. Well...that, and complaining that his ears were ringing." - _**Brandon Snow in the aftermath of the Parley between the Kingdom of Winter and House Targaryen**

_"I can't help but wonder dear, why did your brother decide on conquering the Five of the Kingdoms if he couldn't be bothered to rule it himself after?" -_ **Lord William Belmont to his wife Visenya, after his wife had received a missive requesting help from Lord Hand Orys Baratheon**

_"How long have you been hiding this from me?"_

_"... you never asked."_

_ -_** a supposed exchange between ****King Aegon I Targaryen and William Belmont upon visiting Sea Dragon Point during his Royal Progress in the North.**

_"While I am touched that you think so highly of me cousin, this was why I didn't want to come South."_ -** Maegor Belmont to his cousin Aenys upon seeing the reactions of the Faith.**

"_Remind me again mother, why is it that I and Aenys are building this damn keep when my esteemed uncle can't be bothered to check up on its progress?" - _**Maegor Belmont to his mother ****during the construction of the Red Keep, her response was never written down but was noted to be 'colorful'.**

_"Did you hear the news?"_

_"I did, oh gods I did, I still can't believe I'm related to those fools. I'm almost certain that Lady Visenya is rolling in her grave..."_ \- **An exchange between Lord Cregan Stark and ****Lord Gareth Belmont, upon hearing of the Dance of the Dragons in the South**

_"He is your distant kin Gareth, "_

_"I know Cregan, that's why I'm leaving men behind."_

_"To control him?"_

_"To protect him, until he comes of age. I have no idea why the King must be protected by just the supposedly seven best knights and considering what just happened, I do not trust them."_

_"Right, you do realize that still leaves the vipers in the court?"_

_"I know, which is why I wish to ask something of you my Lord."  
_

_-_** Another exchange between ****Lord Gareth Belmont and Lord Cregan Stark, shortly before the 'Hour of the Wolf'**

_"Marshal the Fleet." - _**Gareth Belmont upon receiving a missive from King Aegon III informing him of the 'Secret Siege' in King's Landing**

_"They did what now? Oh, of course they did..." - _**The response of every Belmont at some point in their lives when finding out the Mabari packs had successfully raided the castle larders.**

_"Right, I was annoyed with the damn statue worshipper before, met him before he was a king and called me a heathen and a faithless savage to my face, I actually felt the urge to show him how 'savage' I could be... It was only because of Elaena that I did nothing. But now? I'm absolutely livid, remind me to apologize to my father and Lord Stark after this..." - _**Asher Belmont, after receiving a missive from Princess Elaena Targaryen and shortly before taking a third of the Ashfield Fleet for the 'Storming of the Maidenvault'**

_"I never really knew how it truly started. It was only through blood ties that I bothered to go South in the First place, I swear that's the only reason we bother with the south nowadays, because someone with blood ties to us asks us to intercede. I know how it began though, my fool of a Grandfather gave a sword to my natural-born uncle rather than my trueborn one and that was the spark that lit the dry chaff, and from the dry chaff came an inferno that set the Kingdom ablaze." -_** Lord Alaric Belmont on the Blackfyre Rebellion**

"_Only a fool would fight the Dothraki on an open field. Only a Belmont is insane enough to try... and actually succeed." _**\- Lord Jon Arryn upon finding out of the Reclamation of Sarnor and**** the participation of the Company of the Rose under Saera Belmont**

_"There were very few in the south that I considered true friends. Baelor, Lyonel, Duncan and Egg- no, Aegon, they were the only ones I could call my friends. Baelor was a good king, the Second of his name, 'Breakspear' they called him in his youth, saved his life at Ashford, took a blow meant for him and suffered painful headaches in the following weeks, but I'd do it again. As kings, I reckon he and Egg were both close seconds to the Conciliator, at least as far as I'm concerned. They both became kings and both of them were my friends... and maybe that's why despite everything Egg's descendants done to my family, it still breaks my heart to do this." **\- **_**Alaric Belmont to Jon Arryn, during Robert's Rebellion the night before the Battle of the Trident**

_"It hasn't been that long, yet Jahaerys II and Aerys the Mad made Baelor the Great* and Aegon the Unlikely's reigns feel like a lost Golden age."_ -**Unknown Noble**

***AU, Baelor Breakspear survives and was king, displacing Aerys I and Maekar for that duration (about 24 years)**

****Mabari are an import from _Records of the Eighth Kingdom, _****different origins in this AU, taken from _Dragon Age_**


End file.
